I laughed. “We both know that’s a lie. A wolf would never hurt his pup without magic.” I watched her eyes snap to mine and I smiled. “You thought I wouldn’t realize?” She shook her head.“So why don’t you save yourself the trouble and pain and just tell me what I want to know?”
She shifted, fur sprouting on her arm with claws slashing through the binding on her hand. But I grabbed her hand and slammed it back down to the arm of the chair and tsked again. “And where do you think you are going?”
“Let me go!” She screamed in my face, trying to shift completely.
“Well, that isn’t going to work for me.” I stood and slammed her struggling arm back on to the arm of the chair and unraveled the rope in my hands. “I was trying to give you an out, Aurora. I really, truly hoped you would have been smart enough to take it. But I guess you want to see how long you can keep up the act.” I wrapped her in the silvered rope, her skin hissing and bubbling from the contact as I wound it around her arm and the chair.
She started to scream, and I hushed her. “Stop. Goddess, stop! You can’t do this to me.”
“Oh, but you are wrong there. You poisoned the Alpha of this pack, and that made you a traitor. Once my father has a clear mind, you will be banished, and if he never recovers, then this pack will fall to Ronnie.”
“Actually, Amy, you will inherit the pack. It’s been approved by the King.” Ronnie tossed out, and Aurora’s eyes widened again at it.
“Well then, no matter what, you will be banished. A rogue has no rights. But even if that wasn’t true, the King has given me permission to do this, or did you already forget? I know silver burns something fierce.” I smiled as I finished tying her up.
The smell of her skin burning was unpleasant, but I stood and moved back to the table. Her screams tapered off and she was left panting. Sweat dripped down her temple and off her nose as she slumped over in the chair.
“Let me go.” She looked up with pleading eyes, but I just shook my head.
“I wish I could, Aurora, I do. But you crossed the line today. And now, now you have to pay the price. What did you do to my father?” I grabbed pliers off the table and moved back to her.
“What are you going to do?” She eyed the tool in my hand and she fought to get away.
“I think you know what I’m going to do, if you don’t tell me.” I placed them on the ground, then turned back to the table. I grabbed a pair of scissors and walked back to her. “I’m going to hurt you until you tell me what you did.” I grabbed her shirt and started to cut it away.
“Why are you cutting my shirt?” She screamed and tried to pull back.
I rolled my eyes and crouched down again. “You can’t be this stupid Aurora. I need more skin. Silver does nothing until it is touching the skin. Now some items I have here aren’t silver, so that I can hurt you, wait for you to heal and then do it again and again until I get bored, I guess, but I want access to your full potential here.”
“Full potential. Are you fucking insane?” She screamed, and I heard both Beck and Ronnie’s intake of breath.
I grabbed her face and made her meet my eyes. “I’m not insane Aurora. I am possibly the most sane person here. But I am also a person who would do anything, and I mean anything, to save her father.” She swallowed audibly and fought to free her face. But I just tightened my grip until I heard her jaw groan. “I won’t allow you, or whoever you are working with or for, to hurt, use, or Goddess forbid, kill my father for this pack. You will be long dead before that ever happens.” I shove her face away and continue cutting her shirt off. I ripped it from her body and then crouched in front of her again. Watching her pant with her hairhanging around her face in just a tank top. “Ronnie? Do you have an elastic band?”
“Um yeah.” He pulled it from his wrist. “I keep one just in case.” I raised my eyebrow and he blushed. “My mate sometimes needs one, and she’s forgetful.” I smile and nod to him about Tina.
“Tina is amazing, but she always borrows mine, which is why I have to ask.” I grabbed the elastic and roughly pulled back Aurora’s hair while she fought. “You know I could just cut it off, if you would prefer no hair?” She froze under my hands and I finished. I trailed my hand along her arm until I wrapped my hand around her index finger and I grabbed the pliers from the floor. “Now where were we?” I crouched and closed the pliers on her nail. I looked up at Ronnie and saw he was pale, but a pink glow stopped me in my tracks.
Something around Aurora’s neck was glowing a soft pink.
I jerked to face her and the glow was gone, but as soon as I turned my head and faced Ronnie, I could see a faint glow around a chain on her neck.
I pulled the pliers, and she screamed and passed out. Ronnie rushed over, but I slapped a hand over my mouth. “What’s wrong?” Ronnie started to hover, and I doubled over and started howling in laughter. “What?”
“Is she really insane?” Beck whispered to Ronnie, which just made me laugh harder. Tears were streaming down my face when I looked up at Ronnie, who was still hovering over me and Aurora.
“Amy, talk to me.” Ronnie knelt and grabbed my face, but I was still trying to catch my breath.
“She.” I started, but I coughed as more laughter bubbled up. “She fainted.”
“We see that. Most she-wolves can’t stand torture Amy.” Ronnie grimaced.
“She probably passed out because of the pain of you ripping out her nail.” Beck tossed out.
“But I didn’t.” I raised the empty pliers and her untouched hand. “She just fainted. From fear.”
Both men froze and looked from the pliers to her hand and then to the passed out Aurora. They both started chuckling as I replaced the pliers on the table and then came back to the unconscious woman. I pushed her head back so that I could look at her neck. I pulled her necklaces from her tank top. I picked through them until one caught my eye.
It was a white gold chain and charm of a wolf howling in front of a jeweled moon that looked familiar. The one in my hand, that was around Aurora’s neck, was an emerald. I pulled my own necklace from under my shirt and compared them side by side. One was emerald, and one was a soft pearl.
